Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster prediction: Who makes the final cut?

Running backs (5): Najee Harris, Anthony McFarland, Kalen Ballage, Benny Snell, Derek Watt (FB)

This is a position that has been debated heavily this offseason. The Steelers essentially swapped James Conner’s roster spot for Najee Harris. However, because the team also added Kalen Ballage this offseason, many wondered what his chances were of making the team, and what it meant for some of the other backs on the roster.

After a solid training camp, I do believe that Ballage has done enough to earn a roster spot – thanks to his ability to do a little bit of everything and play special teams. This means that one player on the roster last year mathematically can’t make the cut.

I consider Anthony McFarland as a lock based on his work with the first-team offense this summer and the fact that he was a fourth-round pick just last year. Because of this, I just barely have Benny Snell edging out Jaylen Samuels for the final running back spot on the team. Both continue to be unspectacular, but the team invested a bit more in Snell and he got the nod as the starter in the final preseason game.

Talent-wise, there isn’t a huge gap between Snell and Samuels, so this has the potential to go either way, but I think the team chooses Snell. They will also keep fullback Derek Watt over Trey Edmunds.